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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
 Posted - 01/24/2010 : 03:30:38
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... for steam cars, that is. According to Time.com:| In August 2009, the British Steam Car, driven by Charles Burnett III, smashed a record that had stood for a century: the land-speed record for a steam-powered car. |
Wow.
It certainly looks like it could break the sound barrier.
And look at its technology:
The previous record holder was Fred Marriott, who in 1906 drove this vehicle, the Stanley Steamer Rocket at 127.659 mph:
 By "smashed," how much faster does Time mean the British Steam Car traveled than had the Stanley Steamer Rocket?
How about 12.184 miles per hour faster? Only a hundred and three years of technological advancement, ten years of work on the new car, plus probably a few pounds sterling, and this steam punk marvel can travel at 139.843 mph!
The New Age of Steam is at hand.
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
Edited by - HalfMooner on 01/24/2010 03:40:08
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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
 Posted - 01/24/2010 : 05:05:44 [Permalink]
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Even though the record isn't all that high, the race car is beyond cool.
Some years back, I was running the Flying Mile at Maxton, NC on a motorcycle under the East Coast Timing Association sanction. I wish I could describe the thrill when you get up over 150 mph and that strip of pavement suddenly shrinks down to about the width of a banjo string. Or so it looks, anyway.
The Maxton course is a paved airstrip; the steamer was running on salt. Salt is a huge horsepower thief. I'm impressed as hell with 139 mph, and I wonder what it would do on blacktop . I'd love to have driven that car, and the Stanley as well.
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist! 
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 01/24/2010 : 05:23:49 [Permalink]
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Oh, I'd have loved to have driven it, too. I'm just impressed at how mature steam car technology was in 1906! (I'd love to drive a Stanley Steamer, as well.)
I would venture to guess, Filthy that "The World's Fastest Indian" may be a favorite movie of yours.
Edited to add:
I guess I'm just used to Moore's Law. Steam technology doesn't seem to be obeying it. 
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
| Edited by - HalfMooner on 01/24/2010 05:42:17 |
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cantbe323
Suspended
242 Posts |
Posted - 01/26/2010 : 14:38:50 [Permalink]
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In August 2009, the British Steam Car, driven by Charles Burnett III, smashed a record that had stood for a century: the land-speed record for a steam-powered car. >>
To bad the 1906 Stanley Steamer didn't get chance to do even better. The law that made SS drivers need a steam engineer's license back then cut expansion short. It also didn't help when one blew up and was doomed by all the newspapers. sabotage was suspected, but never proven.
cantbe323 |
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bngbuck
SFN Addict
USA
2437 Posts |
Posted - 01/26/2010 : 15:01:21 [Permalink]
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| The law that made SS drivers need a steam engineer's license back then cut expansion short. |
The invention of the electric starter, together with Henry Ford's excellently engineered Model T is generally credited with the rapid ascension of sales of gasoline powered automobiles over steamers and electrics. Also, steamers were too expensive in what was rapidly becoming a highly competitive market - $4000 as opposed to $500 for a Model T in 1924 |
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 01/26/2010 : 15:09:10 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by cantbe323
In August 2009, the British Steam Car, driven by Charles Burnett III, smashed a record that had stood for a century: the land-speed record for a steam-powered car. >>
To bad the 1906 Stanley Steamer didn't get chance to do even better. The law that made SS drivers need a steam engineer's license back then cut expansion short. It also didn't help when one blew up and was doomed by all the newspapers. sabotage was suspected, but never proven.
cantbe323
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A Steamer, as I recall, also set a long-standing record for climbing the road up Pike's Peak. |
“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
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cantbe323
Suspended
242 Posts |
Posted - 01/27/2010 : 13:24:33 [Permalink]
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To bad the 1906 Stanley Steamer didn't get chance to do even better. The law that made SS drivers need a steam engineer's license back then cut expansion short. It also didn't help when one blew up and was doomed by all the newspapers. sabotage was suspected, but never proven. >>
The invention of the electric starter, together with Henry Ford's excellently engineered Model T is generally credited with the rapid ascension of sales of gasoline powered automobiles over steamers and electrics. Also, steamers were too expensive in what was rapidly becoming a highly competitive market - $4000 as opposed to $500 for a Model T in 1924>>
Without the bad publicity, SS might have got the investing he needed to incorporate, set up his own production line, and possibly drop the price down to where Fords was. Of course one advantage Ts had over SS was Ts got going much faster. My neighbor with his slow warm up diesel SUV reminds me of that every morning. OTOH, cranking start up wasn't all that great either. Annother thing was the cost effeciency of fuel. Any idea which was the cheapest.
cantbe323
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Steam car sets world record...
